Join Bright Blue on Friday afternoon for the next episode of Bright Blue TV on the theme: Is Covid racist?
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19. People from such communities have been at greater risk of infection, hospitalisation, and death compared to others in the population. Finding out why has been a priority for minimising the terrible toll of the pandemic. A Government review revealed that the increased risk among ethnic minorities is largely due to poverty and social disparities, such as occupation, where people live, how they live, their household composition, and pre-existing health conditions. This begs the questions of the extent to which structural disadvantage and racism has played a role in these outcomes and how it can be addressed. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy has been higher in ethnic minority communities, for a mix of historic and cultural reasons. The Government has been working with community and faith leaders to encourage greater uptake, as gaps in the vaccination programme leave the whole country and beyond exposed to new surges of the virus, but what more can be done?
Bright Blue TV is hosted by Deputy Director of Bright Blue, Nikita Malik. In this episode she will be joined by commentator for The Telegraph, Calvin Robinson, Director of the Runnymede Trust, Dr Halima Begum, and barrister and Founder of the apolitical Take the Covid-19 Vaccine campaign, Kawsar Zaman.
